TLC Forum

So I've been taking time recently to wrap up the final book or two of several series I started five to ten years ago and sort of stalled on. With some I realized I'd really lost interest and didn't care much about the characters anymore (Artemis Fowl). With others, I was pleasantly surprised to pick up a series and find old friends (finishing Ranger's Apprentice has started me rereading the series, started me reading the companion series Brotherband, and eagerly looking forward to the two prequel books). And then there are the books that just make me mad...like the last book of Sisters Grimm. I was furious with it. And the final book of the Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica is infuriating me too (He has 71 pages to fix the mess he's made of a really good series concept...I don't foresee him doing it. I should have stopped at book one.) There's book four of the Ender Quartet, which I find a rather unpleasant series overall, though the first book has an impressive premise. Gotta get to that soon...

And then there's the series I willfully abandoned after a sound investment of six or seven books: The Bloody Jack Adventures. I used to say it was the series I wanted to write when I was a kid, but the fact that the heroine didn't mature at all between the ages of 13 and 17 and was still making the most abominable moral decisions finally had me rooting that the British government would, indeed, catch and hang her (No such luck. I read the final book summary.) I refuse to finish this one. I'm 38 years old and I'm allowed.

What about you? Have you read any series you wish you'd abandoned sooner? Or that made you want to burn the lot when you reached the final page?

I've had series that I wish I abandoned, but more for my mental state then for poor quality of the writing. Though his tendancy to kill off characters who were not major players (or in this case of this one book everyone one except the two protagonists) did annoy me.

You gonna tell us which series? Or would that be too spoilery?

I've never read or watched The Hunger Games, but a friend (somehow) summarized the whole trilogy in twenty minutes and then read the ending paragraph. And I agree with her conclusion that said ending fell flat. Possibly even on its face.

Hmm, I didn't have a problem with the ending to the Hunger Games as far as I remember. The ending to Susan Kay's retelling of the Phantom of the Opera, now, kinda hit a flat note. Raoul is the final narrator and starts going on and on with this cuckoo metaphor I didn't understand at the time. Still enjoyed the book as a whole.

And then there's the Wingfeather Saga. This one I still maintain is worth the read. It's just...I had envisioned something for the series I thought would have been much more interesting. I wanted him to really explore the relationships of the sets of brothers throughout the series: Will and Omer, Artham and Esben, Janner and Tink, etc, and show us how the way these brothers handled their duties and rivalries differently resulted in different outcomes. The author never really fulfills that, though Janner and Tink's relationship is certainly a focal point. As for the actual ending, it's not exactly bad...but it's sure ambiguous. (Read these anyway.)

Finished the Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica yesterday. Wow. Just wow. Talk about not redeeming a series. I can't believe some of the stuff this author pulled in a YA book. Talk about calling on Tash.

And another thing: What's with all the series lately where you've followed something for four to seven books, the stakes couldn't be higher (danger, death, world domination), only to find that ALL THE VILLAIN REALLY NEEDED WAS A HUG (No, seriously. Hug him and he'll go wibbly and lay down and conveniently die.) Without naming names, I've read two or three series with that approach recently. Personally, I find it insulting. Adolph Hitler would not evaporate if you gave him a kiss and a lollipop. And even if he laid down arms, he would not conveniently disappear in a puff of smoke! What do you think?

*agrees about Wingfeather Saga ending*

I understand the fascination with seeing the villain's side of the story, but yeah, it seems that few people actually know how to execute that sort of story well (exception for Once Upon a Time).

Speaking of disappointing endings, am I allowed to say that the Merlin show had a rushed ending?

I was sotra happy with the Merlin ending. I remember all the hype about when it was coming out and what they were going to do and I think they did the only thing they could have done. I don't remember feeling rushed though I was disappointed it was over.

On another TV series, I mentioned to Kristi the other day that when I was last in England I saw what was supposed to be the final episode of the Inspector Lewis (Oxford detective) series (successor to Inspector Morse). I was so disappointed I couldn't believe what they did. It was flat with a kinda "we need to give this thing up and we'll do it without much thought" feel to it. You can imagine my surprise when the following year, friends were posting on FB of sightings of the actors in Oxford and I discovered they were filming another series. No idea what they did with it or how they reversed the ending but it can't be much worse than what they originally did.

On to books, I've had mixed feelings with what Stephen Lawhead did with the Pendragon Cycle [Possible minor spoilers ahead]:. The original last book, Arthur, finished with way too many questions unanswered and so much disappointment that the Summer Kingdom was never fully realised. Then he wrote two more books that fit in before the end of Arthur (during his reign). It filled in a lot of the missing information, and we even saw something of the Summer Kingdom in Grail (which I disliked for other reasons), but I was still unhappy when I got to that end. Then I discovered he'd written what he called "a sequel" (Avalon) on the return of Arthur. I thought we'd finally get the answers and the premise of when and how Arthur would return was not at all what I expected but rather brilliant. Unfortunately the execution was poor. He didn't link it clearly with the earlier books and the characters who returned didn't match the characters who had gone to Avalon at the end of Arthur - it was almost like he'd forgotten what he had written before. Having said that, sometimes rereading a series helps to reduce the feeling of disappointment towards the ending. Some years after I first read the series, I finally came to understand why we never saw the Summer Kingdom and that there was actually a point to that - I also eventually got to appreciate what happened at the end of the first book (Taliesin) after years of being angry with Lawhead over that.

The story with which they ended Merlin was fine, but it felt like a season's worth of further development (particularly for Mordred) would have made the finale stronger.

Well, it looks like I have a bit of info for if/when I read the Pendragon Cycle.

I remember being very disappointed when Book 10 of the Ranger's Apprentice series was slanted to be the last one. It ended with all the characters on a mission in Japan (Nihon-Ja). It was fine as an ensemble piece, but a dreadful way to end a series about a bunch of Quasi-European Rangers and knights. Not to mention it focused too much on Horace, and less on Will, the series' main character (Horace is one of my favorite characters, but that's not the point.) I felt that they should have brought the group together to defend Araluen, their homeland, from some last great threat.

After book ten, the author went on to write a book of the Ranger's "Lost Stories", which had short stories that answered questions fans had written in. While I applaud the idea, I stalled around the first story, which goes into grim detail about the death of Will's parents (covered previous in the novels in broad strokes). It was so depressing.

Well, turned out the author got another book idea (I don't think Flanagan plans anything. I think he just gets a plot bunny and runs with it. It doesn't always lead to the strongest writing and story arcs, but there's good fun to be had with these organic growths.) And while he didn't give us an epic battle to save Araluen from baddies, he did bring the story full circle, giving Will the chance to train his own apprentice. The scale was smaller than I might have preferred, but a much better series ending than book ten. Yay.

And now he's writing two prequels featuring Halt, one of the best characters. So. Much. Awesome.